Container-magazine for dispensing labels

ABSTRACT

An elongated unitary container-magazine for dispensing folded labels having at least one flap, and a nonunitary containermagazine comprising an outer box and an inner box for the same purpose. The invention also includes patterns for forming the foregoing container-magazines.

United States Patent Emile L. Provost New York;

Antonio Tomasello, Yonkers, N.Y. 750,345

Aug. 5, 1968 May 25, 1971 Gellman Industries, Inc.

New York, N.Y.

Inventors Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee CONTAINER-MAGAZINE FOR DISPENSING LABELS 5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[1.8. CI 229/20, 229/ l 7 Int. Cl 365d 5/38, 865d 5/72 Field of Search 229/20, 17;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,668,171 5/1928 Pratt ..206/44.l2(UX) 1,823,572 9/1931 Reed i ..206/44.l2( UX) 2,774,470 12/1956 QPart 206/56(A) 3,423,143 1/1969 Bunger 206/56(A) Primary Examiner-David M. Bockenek Attorney-Bauer & Goodman ABSTRACT: An elongated unitary container-magazine for dispensing folded labels having at least one flap, and a nonunitary container-magazine comprising an outer box and an inner box for the same purpose The invention also includes patterns for forming the foregoing container-magazines.

PATENTEUHAYZSIQYI $580,474

sum 1 OF 3 V I I6 INVEN J MILE L.PROV T BY AN NIO TOMASE ATTORNEYS 24 EMILE LW ST F 15?- 5 BY ANTONIO TOMASELLO ATTORNEYS CONTAINER-MAGAZINE FOR DISPENSING LABELS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The traditional method of sewing a label to a garment is one in which the operator picked a label from a label container, placed the label on the garment, and then sewed the label to the garment. In recent years, devices have been produced for mechanically feeding labels to sewing machines. The devices heretofore used or suggested for automatic label feed have suffered from a variety of disadvantages and/or defects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an efficient mechanism for automatically feeding pieces of sheet material to an operation where they are utilized. In the embodiment of the invention described in detail herein, labels are automatically fed to a sewing machine. The automatic feed mechanism is applicable to feeding separate pieces of other sheet materials to a subsequent operation.

The automatic feed mechanism comprises an elongated container-magazine, a pickup mechanism, and a delivery chute. A preferred embodiment of the feed mechanism provides a device having in combination an elongated containermagazine of rectangular cross section and an unobstructed interior. The pieces of sheet material are positioned in the containermagazine in side-by-side relationship. Each piece of sheet material contains a fold; with the folded edge along the bottom of the container-magazine. The container-magazine is positioned adjacent a pickup mechanism. The end of the container-magazine has a slot along the bottom that is sufficiently large so that the fold of the end piece of sheet material in the container-magazine can be pulled out through the slot. The end piece of sheet material is removed from the containermagazine by a downwardly moving finger which engages the fold and pulls the sheet material from the container-magazine onto a downwardly extending delivery chute. The continued downward movement of the finger pulls the folded sheet material along the delivery chute and delivers it to the next operation.

The container-magazine is preferably prepared from a disposable material such as reinforced paper, plastic, etc. In one embodiment, the container-magazine comprises an elongated outer box having open ends, and a fitted elongated inner box having an open top. The feed side of the inner box contains the slot adjacent the bottom thereof. In another embodiment of the invention, the container-magazine is a single elongated box having the slot along the bottom of the feed end.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective drawing depicting the end of an automatic label sewing machine with the label feed mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the label feed and delivery mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the label container-magazine and a portion of the label pickup mechanism, in section;

FIG. d depicts a section of the same portion of the apparatus, when the feed finger is just engaging the fold of a label;

FIG. 5 is a section through the pickup mechanism along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section of the label container-magazine retainer clamp along section 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective of the two-box container-magazine with the side opening and label fold in view;

FIG. 8 is a perspective of the label container-magazine illustrated in FIG. 7 with the inner container partially extended;

FIG. 9 is a pattern for forming the inner container of the label container-magazine illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. I0 is a perspective of a unitary container-magazine; and

FIG. 11 is a flat pattern for forming the unitary containermagazine illustrated in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The sheet material, e.g. the labels which are automatically fed are stacked in an elongated label container-magazine 10 from which they are picked up by the pickup mechanism 12. The label is then fed into the label delivery chute 14 which guides the label to the sewing machine 16 with the face of the label down. The garment to which the label is to be sewn is then placed above the label. The garment and label are then clamped together by lowering of clamp 18, and the label is automatically sewn to the garment within the inner periphery of clamp 18.

In one embodiment of the invention the label containermagazine 10 is made up of two containers; an outer container 20 being a sheath having four sides with a rectangular cross section and having open ends; and a conforming inner label container 22 being an open topped box. The top of the outer container 20 may have one or more longitudinal slots so that the amount of labels in the container-magazine may be visually determined. The inner label container 22 is formed with a left sidewall 24, a right sidewall 26 and a bottom 28 joining said left and right sidewalls. The end of the inner container 22 away from the feed end of the mechanism may be closed in any convenient fashion, e.g., and end wall, joining left sidewall 24, right sidewall 26, and bottom 28. The label feed end of the inner container 22 has an end wall 30 which connects left sidewall and right sidewall 26. End wall 30 does not extend to the bottom of container 22, leaving an opening 31 through which labels 32 are picked-up from the label container-magazine 10.

The inner label container 22 may be formed from the pattern illustrated in FIG. 9 by cutting out and creasing the pattern as shown and then folding sidewalls 24 and 26 up, followed by folding feed end side 30 up, and folding flap 34 around sidewalls 24 and gluing flap 34 to sidewall 24. Flap 34 could be otherwise affixed to sidewall 24 instead of being glued thereto, e.g., taping, stapling, pinning, etc.

Each of the labels 32 has one or two folds 38 extending from opposite sides which are folded upon the back side of the label. The labels are stacked in inner container 22 with the back side, i.e., the side containing the folds, in the direction of feed. The labels are positioned so that the fold 38 is at the bottom of the inner container 22. The inner container 22 has a rectangular cross section and does not contain obstructions in the interior of the container. The use of the term rectangular in connection with the container-magazine 10 is meant to include square cross sections; the precise cross section being governed by the label being sewn. The inner sides and bottom of the container 22 are preferably prepared from a cardboard having a hard, smooth finish, to reduce friction of the labels moving down the label feed end. The labels are fed from the inner container 22 as described in detail hereinafter. The top of the label container-magazine may have one or more long longitudinal slots to permit visual check of the contents.

In another embodiment of the invention, the label container-magazine is a unitary elongated container-magazine 11 having rectangular cross section with a closed end 13 and a closed feed end 15. The container-magazine 11 has sidewalls l7 and 19, bottom 21 and top 23. Sidewall 19 contains an outwardly extending side flange 25 extending substantially the entire length of the container-magazine 11. Flange 25 is folded upon top 23 and fixed thereto, e.g., interlocked, glued, stapled, etc. The end 13 is closed by folding an outwardly extending back fold 27 terminating in an extension 29 which is keyed into a small slot 39 toward the rear of sidewall 17.

The feed end 15 of container-magazine 11 is readily formed by folding a flap 33 extending outwardly from the end of panel 15 and fixing flap 33 to panel 17 e.g. by stapling, gluing, etc. The desired feed slot 35, is formed by extending end panel 15 only part of the way down from the top 23 toward bottom 21. Top 23 as illustrated, contains two elongated slots 37 to permit visual inspection of the containers of the magazine-container 11. The interior of unit container-magazine lll preferably also has the hard smooth finish and is unobstructed in cross section, so that the labels will feed down the container-magazine as they are picked-up from the feed end.

The label container-magazine should be manufactured to rigid specifications so that the labels are precisely positioned against the label pickup mechanism. For shipping purposes the slot opening in the label feed end of either the unitary label container-magazine ill or the two box label containermagazine 10 described hereinbefore is closed sufficient to prevent labels from falling out during shipment. This can be accomplished by closing the opening with an adhesive tape, or by having an end construction which completely closes the label feed end but delineates the slot with a perforated outline so that the pressed cardboard within the perforated outline is readily removed before the label container-magazine is positioned adjacent the label pickup mechanism.

The label container-magazine 10 is positioned adjacent the label pickup mechanism 12 by a bracket assembly comprising an upwardly extending elongated back plate 30 terminating in a U-shaped clamp formed by mating rear L-shaped member 42 and front L-shaped member 44. The bottom of the label container-magazine H is further prevented from falling by intermediate bottom support 46 which is fixed adjacent the bottom of rear plate 40. Bottom support 46 terminates with upwardly extended flange 48 at its forward end to further aid in positioning the label container-magazine 10. The lower end of support back plate 40 is fixed to rectangular adapter 50 which is positioned adjacent hollow vacuum plate 52 and is dimensioned so that the end and the extended sides of inner container 22, or the entire feed end of unitary container-magazine 11, are encompassed by the opening formed by the four sides of adapter 50.

During operation of the label feed mechanism, the exposed end label is picked-up. The label immediately behind it then becomes the end label. This results from a gravity feed with the label container-magazine 110 being held in an upwardly extended position; The labels are firmly packed in inner container 22 so that they will retain their position during handling, but with sufficient compressibility to permit insertion of a weight in the end of inner container 22 away from the feed mechanism before operation. This weight in conjunction with the careful stacking of the labels and the smooth and obstruction free inner construction of inner label container 22, results in regular feed of the labels.

The feed end of the label container-magazine l0, and specifically end wall 30, abuts vacuum pickup plate 52. Plate 52 is a hollow plate having an entrance port 54 for connecting a vacuum line. The vacuum passages are generally hollowed out portions 56 which connect with two or more vacuum ports 58. The vacuum ports 58 are positioned at the level of label fold 38 and draw said label fold 38 forward spacing it away from the backside 36 of label 32. in its downward movement, finger 60 of the label pickup mechanism 12 extends between the U-shaped arms of vacuum plate 52 and down between flap 38 and the back of label 36. Continued downward movement of finger 60 draws label 36 down into engagement with label delivery chute M.

Label delivery chute 114i is a curved chute positioned in a circular are having a top surface 62 bracketed with reentrant end flanges 64. The label 32 is pulled down along surface 62 by finger 60 and is guided by said finger 60 and maintained within end flangesM until it is delivered to sewing table 16. The label pickup mechanism then reverses direction, returning finger 60 to its uppermost position, so that the cycle can be repeated after sewing operation on the previous label.

When feeding rectangular labels that are relatively long in the dimension having the two flaps 38, U-shaped vacuum plate 52 may be replaced by a similar vacuum plate having three or more vacuum ports 58, each of said ports being on a downwardly extending arm, thereby forming a double U- shape. A pickup mechanism having two or more downwardly extending fingers is used with such a double U-shaped vacuum plate 52.

Although the automatic feed mechanism has been described in detail in connection with the automatic feed of labels, it is applicable to feeding other sheet material, such as paper, plastic, reinforced papers, plastic sheet and film, etc. The sheet material must be shaped so that it contains a fold, or at least may be positioned with a portion of the sheet material folded back upon itself. Where there is only one fold, the folded edge of the material is positioned along the bottom of the container-magazine. With rigid sheet material, the finger will adapt to engage a projection or hole which permits engagement with the feed mechanism.

The description of the container-magazine having a rectangular cross section is most applicable to the feed mechanism for feeding labels which traditionally have a rectangular shape. Since the design of the upper portion of the label is not critical to the operation of the automatic feed mechanism, the shape of the label or other sheet material utilized is not critical so long as it contains a bottom edge along which the material is folded back upon itself. ln all cases it is important that the container-magazine be dimensioned to meet the necessary close tolerances so that the label or other sheet material is precisely positioned to be picked-up by the pickup mechanism and delivered to the subsequent operation, which may include such diverse operations as sewing, heat sealing, gluing, printing, embossing, etc.

As many embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention includes all such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An elongated container-magazine for dispensing folded labels having at least one flap comprising an elongated container having a top and bottom and two sidewalls forming a rectangular shape and having two ends, a first feed label end, and a second end;

said feed end having a wall joining said two sidewalls, said wall extending across the width thereof extending downward more than half the height of said sidewalls and leaving a slot adjacent the bottom, said slot extending upwarda height greater than the height of said flap; and

said second end being enclosed with a means sufficient to prevent sheet material from falling out of said containermagazine during handling. 2. The container-magazine of claim 1 wherein the inner surfaces of the sidewalls and bottom adapted to be in contact with the sheet material are of a smooth hard cardboard so that labels may slide along said container-magazine.

3. A pattern for forming the elongated container-magazine of claim 2 comprising an elongated flat piece of cardboard containing four longitudinal creases extending the length of said piece of cardboard and spaced to form, sequentially, a top panel, a first side panel, a bottom panel equal in width to said first top panel, a second side panel equal in width to said first side panel, and a flap intended to be positioned coextensively with the opposed side of said top panel and to be affixed thereto thereby establishing said elongated containermagazine in the form of a rectangular shape:

said pattern also including a first end panel extending outwardly from said second side panel, said first end panel extending outwardly a distance at least as long as the width of said bottom panel, said first end panel having a width less than the width of said side panel and being positioned with the one side of said first end panel along the outward extension of said crease between said second side panel and said flap whereby when said elongated container-magazine is formed, said second end panel joins said two side panels and forms an end closure having a slot adjacent the bottom thereof; and

said pattern also including a second end panel extending outwardly from the opposite end of said second side panel, said second end panel being the width of said second side panel and extending outwardly at least the length of said bottom panel whereby when said elongated container-magazine is formed, said second end panel joins the two side panels and closes one end of said elongated container-magazine.

4. A label container-magazine comprising an outer box and an inner box:

said outer box being an elongated box having a bottom, two

sides, and a top forming a rectangular shape;

said inner box being an elongated topless box having a rectangular cross section and comprising a bottom, two sides, and a first feed label end and a second end, said first feed end being an end wall joining said two sides and extending at least the upper half of said end whereby the bottom edge of said wall, the edge of said bottom, and the edges of said two sides define a slot in said feed end of said container-magazine;

said second end being a wall closing the opposite end of said inner box; and

said inner box being dimensioned so that it fits within said outer box, said inner and outer boxes together forming said container-magazine. 5. A pattern for forming the elongated inner box of the container-magazine of claim 4 comprising an elongated flat piece of cardboard containing two longitudinal creases equally spaced from the edges defining the bottom panel between said two creases, whereby bending along said two creases forms two side panels separated by the bottom panel:

said pattern containing a feed label end panel extended outwardly from the end of one of said two side panels, said feed end panel being flush with the outer edge of said side panel and extending a distance from said side panel at least the width of said bottom panel, said end panel having a width less than the width of said side panel; and

whereby when said two side panels are formed by creasing along said longitudinal creases, and said feed end panel is folded to join said two side panels, an end closure having a slot adjacent the bottom thereof is formed. 

1. An elongated container-magazine for dispensing folded labels having at least one flap comprising an elongated container having a top and bottom and two sidewalls forming a rectangular shape and having two ends, a first feed label end, and a second end; said feed end having a wall joining said two sidewalls, said wall extending across the width thereof extending downward more than half the height of said sidewalls and leaving a slot adjacent the bottom, said slot extending upward a height greater than the height of said flap; and said second end being enclosed with a means sufficient to prevent sheet material from falling out of said containermagazine during handling.
 2. The container-magazine of claim 1 wherein the inner surfaces of the sidewalls and bottom adapted to be in contact with the sheet material are of a smooth hard cardboard so that labels may slide along said container-magazine.
 3. A pattern for forming the elongated container-magazine of claim 2 comprising an elongated flat piece of cardboard containing four longitudinal creases extending the length of said piece of cardboard and spaced to form, sequentially, a top panel, a first side panel, a bottom panel equal in width to said first top pAnel, a second side panel equal in width to said first side panel, and a flap intended to be positioned coextensively with the opposed side of said top panel and to be affixed thereto thereby establishing said elongated container-magazine in the form of a rectangular shape: said pattern also including a first end panel extending outwardly from said second side panel, said first end panel extending outwardly a distance at least as long as the width of said bottom panel, said first end panel having a width less than the width of said side panel and being positioned with the one side of said first end panel along the outward extension of said crease between said second side panel and said flap whereby when said elongated container-magazine is formed, said second end panel joins said two side panels and forms an end closure having a slot adjacent the bottom thereof; and said pattern also including a second end panel extending outwardly from the opposite end of said second side panel, said second end panel being the width of said second side panel and extending outwardly at least the length of said bottom panel whereby when said elongated container-magazine is formed, said second end panel joins the two side panels and closes one end of said elongated container-magazine.
 4. A label container-magazine comprising an outer box and an inner box: said outer box being an elongated box having a bottom, two sides, and a top forming a rectangular shape; said inner box being an elongated topless box having a rectangular cross section and comprising a bottom, two sides, and a first feed label end and a second end, said first feed end being an end wall joining said two sides and extending at least the upper half of said end whereby the bottom edge of said wall, the edge of said bottom, and the edges of said two sides define a slot in said feed end of said container-magazine; said second end being a wall closing the opposite end of said inner box; and said inner box being dimensioned so that it fits within said outer box, said inner and outer boxes together forming said container-magazine.
 5. A pattern for forming the elongated inner box of the container-magazine of claim 4 comprising an elongated flat piece of cardboard containing two longitudinal creases equally spaced from the edges defining the bottom panel between said two creases, whereby bending along said two creases forms two side panels separated by the bottom panel: said pattern containing a feed label end panel extended outwardly from the end of one of said two side panels, said feed end panel being flush with the outer edge of said side panel and extending a distance from said side panel at least the width of said bottom panel, said end panel having a width less than the width of said side panel; and whereby when said two side panels are formed by creasing along said longitudinal creases, and said feed end panel is folded to join said two side panels, an end closure having a slot adjacent the bottom thereof is formed. 